OSPA Updates: New NIH and NSF application guidelines for 1/25/16 due dates | New DHHS salary cap | Proposal submission deadlines policy | Grants training

National Institutes of Health
REMINDER: For 1/25/16 due dates and after, revised SF424 Application Guides
Refer here for the prior notice with full details. Significant changes include updated application requirements and review language to enhance reproducibility of research findings through increased scientific rigor and transparency. Note that the new “Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources” attachment is required only for applications that propose to use biological and/or chemical resources.

New DHHS Salary Cap, Effective 1/10/2016
Executive Level II of the Federal Pay Scale, which sets the cap limit for salaries on DHHS awards, has increased from $183,300 to $185,100 effective January 10, 2016. The Sponsored Programs Procedure Guide (SPPG) is updated here, including links to relevant NIH Notices and salary cap history (FY 1990 to present).

National Science Foundation

REMINDER: For 1/25/16 due dates and after, revised Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (NSF 16-1)
Refer here for the prior notice with full details. Significant changes include a new single-copy document required for each senior project personnel regarding collaborators and other affiliations and new submission instructions for biosketches and current and pending support.

NSF proposal deadlines extended to 1/26/16 | NSF closed today (1/25) due to inclement weather

All proposal deadlines from January 22 and January 25 are extended to January 26, 5:00PM submitter's local time, as a result of NSF closure.

• As per NSF's guidance related to deadline submissions, failure to submit by 5:00PM (submitter's local time) will result in the proposal not being accepted. 
• Please select the updated deadline date in the Deadline/Target Date dropdown in the Remainder of the Coversheet section of your proposal before submitting your proposal to NSF. 
• NSF is closed on Monday, January 25, due to inclement weather. FastLane user support is unavailable. 

If you have not done so already, please alert your SGCA to any proposals (or awards) potentially affected by funding agency closures or closures or delays at collaborating institutions (i.e., anticipated subawards).

Grant Connections - January 2016

Wednesday, January 27, 2016
11:00 a.m. – noon
Room 572 of the Bond Life Sciences Center

Agenda

• Hot Topics
• Preparing and Submitting your NIH Grant Application. Up first in a new Grant Connections discussion series on common proposal submission issues, Brenda Leuenberger from OSPA will share "Questions, Quirks, and reQuests: AKA Errors and Warnings and Calls from your SGCA” for National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant applications through Grants.gov and the eRA Commons. 
• Rigor and Transparency. NIH has implemented changes relating to rigor and transparency “to enhance the reproducibility of research findings,” effective for most applications with due dates on or after January 25, 2016 (NOT-OD-16-11). We will review the new requirements for proposals and post-award administration related to compliance with this policy. 

Mark your calendars! Meetings are scheduled for the following dates.

• February 24, 2016
• March 23, 2016
• April 27, 2016
• May 25, 2016

Grant Connections Organizational Crew (send your suggestions for future topics to these people)

• Liz Bent, Grants & Contracts Administrator, CAFNR 
• Marty Carter, Senior Business Operations Associate, School of Medicine 
• Brandi Clements, Grants & Contracts Administrator, College of Education 
• Craig David, Director, OSPA 
• Jill Ferguson, Senior Compliance Manager, OSPA 
• Sheryl Koenig, Grant Proposal Manager, Bond Life Sciences Center 
• Julia Rodriguez, Grants & Contracts Administrator, Bond Life Sciences Center 
• Jamie Szabo, Senior Compliance Manager, OSPA 

Please share this information anyone else associated with research who you think might be interested in attending.

PeopleSoft Grants Module and the ePSRS January 19 | OSPA Certificate Series for Specialized Grants Training

Enjoy your three-day weekend … and then join us Tuesday morning for the next installment of the OSPA Certificate Series! Come along on a step-by-step walk through the PeopleSoft Grants Module and the Electronic PeopleSoft Signature Routing Sheet (ePSRS) and learn some tips and tricks along the way. Next Tuesday, January 19, from 8:30 to 10:30am in Memorial Union Stotler Lounge I … Register here: https://apps.orcs.missouri.edu/ospa_training/

2016 OSPA Certificate Series for Specialized Grants Training

MU Research Community,

New to research administration, want a refresher on the award cycle, or looking for an overview of recent changes in the MU Office of Research? Please consider attending one, a few, or all of the OSPA Certificate Series for Specialized Grants Training sessions planned for 2016. Join us for Fundamentals of Sponsored Programs this Thursday, January 14, from 8:30 to 10:30am at the MU Student Center. From the OSPA website, the Training Registration page (https://apps.orcs.missouri.edu/ospa_training/) details sessions scheduled through early April—including fundamentals, EVR and cost transfers, budget development, ePSRS, F&A, and more!—and describes additional sessions to be scheduled for the remainder of the year.

Please contact Jill Ferguson (fergusonjs@missouri.edu) with questions about the sessions or Megan Ray (rayme@missouri.edu, 882-2810) if you have any trouble with registration.